


Happy Birthday, Dear Benny

by artbabe



Category: My Babysitter's A Vampire
Genre: Angst, Bittersweet Ending, F/F, Grief/Mourning, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Past Character Death, like some comfort
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-09
Updated: 2021-03-09
Packaged: 2021-03-15 15:01:47
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,204
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29935191
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/artbabe/pseuds/artbabe
Summary: They can feel his love when they look up at the full moon. It’s Benny’s first birthday that Ethan, Rory, Erica, and Sarah have to celebrate without him, and it’s killing them. The group had stopped hanging out soon after he left them - the empty spaces he left behind made it too painful to be around each other - but Ethan had insisted that they honor his spirit by coming together for the occasion.
Relationships: Ethan Morgan & Benny Weir, Ethan Morgan/Benny Weir, Sarah Fox & Erica Jones & Rory Keaner & Benny Weir, Sarah Fox/Erica Jones
Comments: 4
Kudos: 8





	Happy Birthday, Dear Benny

**Author's Note:**

> a very big thank you to my beta reader @keithundead on ao3!

They can feel his love when they look up at the full moon. It’s Benny’s first birthday that Ethan, Rory, Erica, and Sarah have to celebrate without him, and it’s killing them. The group had stopped hanging out soon after he left them - the empty spaces he left behind made it too painful to be around each other - but Ethan had _insisted_ that they honor his spirit by coming together for the occasion. 

So Rory picked a spot in the woods that he claimed had “a lot of Benny energy,” Sarah baked a beautiful chocolate cake that Benny would have loved, Erica led them in a traditional vampire prayer to help his soul rest peacefully, and of course, Ethan planned out the whole evening to make it perfect for Benny. 

None of them seem to know what to say, so they just sit around the cake on the red checkered picnic blanket and look at the moon. Ethan pretends not to notice when Sarah’s hand covers Erica’s, pretends that his heart doesn’t _ache_ because he hasn’t touched Benny’s hand like that in so _so_ long, and he will never get to touch his hand like that again. A gust of warm summer wind blows around them, and Ethan could swear it feels just like one of Benny’s big bear hugs. Tears roll down his face. This is too hard. 

He jumps up. “I MISS YOU!” Ethan screams at the moon. It’s stupid, but he needs to do this. “I CAN’T DO THIS WITHOUT YOU ANYMORE! I STILL LOVE YOU!” His face is a blotchy red. His voice is rough and raw. “I NEED YOU! WHY DID YOU LEAVE ME? I LOVE YOU!” He’s crying, ugly and messy and hysterical.

Sarah rises and slides an arm around his shaking shoulders. The moon remains bright and distant in the sky. Unchanging. “Please come back,” Ethan whispers, “please… Why did he have to leave me?” Sarah envelopes him in a full hug, and his tears soak into the shoulder of her shirt. He’s empty without his best friend. The love of his life. His forever. 

Rory shifts uncomfortably. It’s hard watching his friend fall apart. “I don’t know what to do without him. He was the only person in the world who actually, really liked me. He didn’t mind me bringing my stupid toys over to his place, or arguing with me about stupid nerd stuff. I just-” Rory’s voice breaks and he looks away. Erica nods. She gets it.

“He was the only one who ever loved every version of me, no matter how nerdy or mean. He just liked me for me.” She pulls her knees up to her chest. “And now he’s just _gone_? It’s not fair.” 

Rory looks up to the moon, which still feels like Benny’s spirit shining down on them. “I love you. We miss you.” He whispers. His chest hurts. Even if there is an afterlife, Ethan is the only one who’s gonna get to join Benny there. Maybe that’s fair. Ethan does love him the most out of all of them. But they’re his _friends_. They deserved so many more years with him. For the first time in his undead life, Rory wishes he had never become a vampire. 

When Ethan finally calms down, they sit in a heavy silence around the picnic blanket once again. It’s hard not to notice the empty space next to Ethan where Benny normally would have sat. Erica lights the candles on Benny’s cake, but no one wants to be the one to blow them out. It’s too much like saying goodbye. One goes out almost immediately and refuses to light again, leaving just 16 burning candles

“He was more than my other half,” Ethan’s face is lit by the weak birthday candles. He clears his throat and glances up at the bright, beautiful moon before continuing, “It was like we were a chemical solution. We grew up together. We became parts of each other. I remind _myself_ of him.” He lets out a heavy sigh that snuffs out a second candle. The 15 pinpricks of light make the tears welling in his eyes glitter. 

“I can’t even think without his thoughts getting in my head. Everything around me is a part of him.” A candle falls over and sinks into the rich icing. 14 remain.

Ethan looks down at his palms, remembering how Benny used to fill them with his hands, his kisses, his fluffy hair. “I just need him back.” His voice flattens out, and he uses his empty palms to wipe away tears running down his cheeks. “I wish I was Orpheus and was Eurydice. I would never look back.” He knows that most of what he’s saying is probably nonsense, but he has to say _something_. He doesn’t know when he’ll see any of them again.

The cake is getting covered in cheap wax, but it doesn’t matter because none of them has the stomach to eat, anyway. There are 13 candles left. Erica glares at them with fire behind her eyes. He was too young. He was a _child_. But in the end, he was alone, like humans tend to be when they leave. She wants to scream like Ethan did, but not at Benny. She wants to scream at the universe for letting things like this happen. She wants to scream at his magic for not protecting him when he needed it most. She wants to scream at herself for not being there for him. 

Another candle goes out. 12. 

Rory lays his head in her lap. Normally she would push him off and yell at him, but he seems so broken that she decides to let him stay. Her fingers run gently through his soft hair. “At least he’s with his mom now.” His voice shakes. They all look down at the 11 flickering lights. 

Ethan scoots over to fill the gap between them and grabs Rory’s hand. It’s colder and smaller than Benny’s, but it’s better than the emptiness. “Do you think he’s happy?” 

10 candles left. 

“I think he’s happy that we’re here for him on his special day.” Sarah wraps an arm around Erica. 

9.

“ _Happy Birthday to you_ ,” Erica starts, out of tune and awkward against the serene sounds of nature. 

8.

“ _Happy Birthday to you_ ,” Sarah and Rory join in quietly. A breeze blows through their hair and rustles through the trees. 

7.

“ _Happy Birthday, dear Bennyyy_ ,” Ethan’s voice accompanies theirs, full of sadness. 

6.

“ _Happy Birthday to you_.” Together, the small group fills the dark with their love for Benny. Somehow, the moon seems brighter. Warmer. 

5.

Sarah’s lips press a soft kiss on Erica’s shoulder. 

4.

Erica’s hands work tiny braids into Rory’s hair. 

3.

Rory’s thumb rubs little circles against Ethan’s knuckles. 

2.

We’re gonna be okay.” It doesn’t matter who said it; they all know it’s a lie. 

1.

They sit in the darkness together, watching it melt into the cake. It’s hard, and maybe it always will be hard, but for right now, they have each other to hold on to. 

“I love you, Benny,” Ethan whispers, and the gentle breeze blows out the last candle. 

**Author's Note:**

> thank u so much for reading! if u enjoyed pls feel free to leave comments/kudos <3


End file.
